Early life
Zufar was born in 110 (728) or 111 (729) during his father's governorship of Isfahan. [2] His father, al-Hudhayl, belonged to a family settled in Basra, from the Anbar branch of the Tamim tribe, while his mother was a Persian concubine. [3] According to Basra judge Hajjaj b. Ertat, a relative, Zufar spoke Arabic, but his appearance resembled that of an Ajam (non-Arab). Little is known about his early years. He had three brothers: Kawsar, Hirsama, and Sabah. Although the exact date of his arrival in Kufa is unknown, he stated that he attended Abu Hanifa's circle for over twenty years, so he likely came before 130 (748), before turning twenty. Following his father's death in 128 (746), he probably left Isfahan and returned to Iraq (Basra–Kufa). [2]
Education
Zufar initially attended assemblies of the people of hadith (Ahl al-Hadith) and advanced in hadith studies. When he found the environment of the hadith scholars inadequate for jurisprudential questions (fiqh), he became interested in Abu Hanifa's fiqh/ra'y method, which analyzed the Quran and Sunnah to derive legal conclusions, and he joined Abu Hanifa's circle. [4]
Many people who possessed Sunan transmitted narrations from Zufar, and hadith scholars generally described him as thiqa (trustworthy), mutqin (precise), and saduq (truthful), giving him a favorable position in hadith transmission compared to other ra'y adherents. [2] Hadith memorizers such as Yahya ibn Ma'in, Fadl b. Dukayn, Waki b. Jarrah, and tabaqat authors including Ibn Hibban, Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, and al-Dhahabi considered Zufar thiqa. His teachers included al-Amash, Yahya b. Said al-Ansari, Ibn Ishaq, Yahya b. Abd Allah al-Taymi, Ismail b. Abi Khalid, Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani, Zakariya b. Abi Zaida, and Said b. Abi Aruba. [2]
Those who transmitted hadith from him included Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak, Shaqiq al-Balhi, Muhammad al-Shaybani, Waki' ibn al-Jarrah, Sufyan ibn ʽUyaynah, Hakam ibn Ayyub, Shaddad b. Hakim, Abu Asim al-Nabil, Abu Wahb Muhammad b. Muzahim al-Marwazi, and Fadl b. Dukayn.
Some critics of Zufar's hadith transmission likely did so because he adhered to ra'y and had originally been with the people of hadith, as adherence to ra'y was considered a reason for jarh (discrediting) among early scholars. [2]
Examples of Zufar's transmissions appear in works with his biographical entries, including Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani's Tarikh Isfahan (Dhikru Akhbari Isfahan), Abu al-Shaykh's Tabaqat al-Muhaddithin bi-Isfahan, and al-Khatib's History of Baghdad. Sources state that Zufar transmitted a narration work from Abu Hanifa titled al-Athar, and that two hadith booklets of his existed, transmitted through Abu Wahb and Shaddad b. Hakim. [2]
Role in Hanafism
After joining Abu Hanifa's teaching circle, Zufar, along with Abu Yusuf, became one of its two leading members and presided over it after his teacher's death in 150 AH (767 CE). Among Abu Hanifa's students, comparative accounts about Abu Yusuf and Zufar suggest a form of rivalry. After Abu Hanifa's death, Zufar was regarded as superior by the members of the assembly, which likely led Abu Yusuf to form a separate group. According to Waki b. Jarrah, Zufar's circle was initially crowded, while Abu Yusuf's had only a few students. It is narrated that Waki first attended both circles but later preferred Zufar, calling him "the inheritance of the Imam," and that Fadl b. Dukayn said he joined Zufar because he was the firmest and most discerning among Abu Hanifa's companions. [2]
After Abu Hanifa's death, Zufar continued teaching in Kufa and became well known, especially in Basra, where his tribe and relatives were influential. When he went there for an inheritance case, the notables of Basra urged him to stay, and he accepted. Abu Yusuf then took over Abu Hanifa's circle in Kufa. Muhammad b. al-Hasan, who studied briefly with Abu Hanifa, first joined Zufar's circle and later became Abu Yusuf's student after Zufar moved to Basra. Sources state that Zufar successfully spread Abu Hanifa's views in Basra. Abu Hanifa had earlier assigned Yusuf b. Khalid al-Samti to represent Kufa's jurisprudence there, but Samti failed. Zufar followed a different approach: instead of starting his own circle, he joined local assemblies, studied their methods, and later pointed out inconsistencies between their principles and rulings. When his method was accepted, he revealed it was based on Abu Hanifa's teachings, which helped remove Basrans' opposition to Abu Hanifa's name. [2]
Sources mention that Zufar debated Amr ibn Ubayd, a leading Mutazili, in the presence of the governor of Basra on the issue of divine decree (qadar). Amr could not respond and was silenced, and this event became widely known. Zufar also discussed with Sufyan al-Thawri and others, maintaining mutual respect despite differences. [2]
Zufar's students included Muhammad al-Shaybani, Uthman al-Batti, Shaddad b. Hakim, and Abu Wahb Muhammad b. Muzahim, as well as jurists who later led Basra's scholarly circles. Through them, his views spread from Kufa and Basra to Khurasan and Transoxiana. [2]
Zufar's jurisprudential views sometimes differed from those of Abu Hanifa, Abu Yusuf, and Muhammad due to his rational and independent style. The phrase "inda Zufar" ("according to Zufar") frequently appears in Hanafi sources to indicate his unique opinions. He emphasized strict consistency in analogy (qiyas) and preferred logical precision even when it conflicted with custom (urf) or public interest (istihsan). While Abu Hanifa and others sometimes accepted istihsan to ease hardship, Zufar insisted on applying analogy fully. [2]
Later Hanafi scholars described him as a figure of strict logic and consistency. His independent opinions were fewer but valued for their coherence. Works like Al-Mabsut by al-Sarakhsi and Bada'i' al-Sana'i' by al-Kasani cite several examples of his differing rulings, sometimes using them to reinforce Hanafi legal principles. Although his madhhab did not continue as a separate school, his reasoning remained influential in the development of Hanafi jurisprudence. [2]
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